What grows together goes together

"I've heard people describe Missouri wines with European grape names. This is like a Pinot Noir, this is like a Cabernet, like a Merlot. That's not true. That's not true any more than a banana tastes like a cherry." So says sommelier Glenn Bardgett in our Winemaking in Missouri doc. The hybrid grapes that grow well in the middle of the continent -- Chambourcin, Seyval Blanc, Vignoles -- are not typically familiar to most wine drinkers, but they make amazing wine that's worth seeking out.

In Missouri, as well in many other mid-continent states, grape growers plant hybrids. And what are hybrid grapes? They’re created when Vitis vinifera varietals, which have been cultivated in Europe for thousands of years, have been crossed with wild grapes native to the Americas.

There are hundreds of hybrid grape varietals that have been developed since the phylloxera epidemic of the mid-1800s. Some hybrids were developed in France, like Chambourcin, and others were recently introduced. Vignoles, for example, was developed by J.F. Ravat and originally named Ravat 51 — the name Vignoles was introduced by the Finger Lakes Wine Growers Association, and today the grape is widely planted in Missouri.